Interview with Lindsey Loucks, author of The Grave Winner and INT giveaway!

I met this terrific indie author at a twitter party (which by the way, is still my favorite twitter party to date), and boy, am I glad I did! Lindsey is a terrific author and everyone should read her awesome book, The Grave Winner!

Goodreads Book Description: Leigh Baxton is terrified her mom will come back from the dead -- just like the prom queen did.

While the town goes beehive over the news, Leigh bikes to the local cemetery and buries some of her mom’s things in her grave to keep her there. When the hot and mysterious caretaker warns her not to give gifts to the dead, Leigh cranks up her punk music and keeps digging.

She should have listened.

Two dead sorceresses evicted the prom queen from her grave to bury someone who offered certain gifts. Bury them alive, that is, then resurrect them to create a trio of undead powerful enough to free the darkest sorceress ever from her prison inside the earth.

With help from the caretaker and the dead prom queen, Leigh must find out what’s so special about the gifts she gave, and why the sorceresses are stalking her and her little sister. If she doesn’t, she’ll either lose another loved one or have to give the ultimate gift to the dead – herself.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Author Blurb: Lindsey R. Loucks works as a school librarian in rural Kansas. When she's not discussing books with anyone who will listen, she's dreaming up her own stories. Eventually her brain gives out, and she'll play hide and seek with her cat, put herself in a chocolate induced coma, or watch scary movies alone in the dark to reenergize.

She's been with her significant other for almost two decades.

Links:

Buy The Grave Winner on Amazon.

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Add The Grave Winner to Goodreads.

Check out Lindsey’s website.

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Author Interview

1.I love that you are a librarian as well as a writer. Can you talk a little about your journey and how your experiences as a librarian influenced your writing? 
Sure! I’ve always been a book freak, so becoming a librarian and a writer seemed like a natural progression. As a librarian, I get to visit with kids of all ages about their reading likes and dislikes. One thing I learned from them is to start a story off with a bang and then keep the pace rolling along, sometimes at breakneck speed, until the end. That’s something I tried to do with The Grave Winner.

2. Why YA horror? 
Well, I had a terrifying childhood, and I mean that in the best way possible. My parents loved some of the old horror movies and they practically lived and breathed anything by Stephen King. When I was old enough to handle movies like The Exorcist and Stephen King, I couldn’t get enough. Now, I’m constantly on the hunt for something to scare myself silly.

3. I love your characters. Did any of your characters surprise you? If so, which one?
Thank you! I think the only one who surprised me was my main character Leigh. Underneath her rough exterior, she has an enormous heart. After what I put her through, she still puts others’ needs before her own. That takes a special type of person, especially for someone who’s only fifteen!

4. The setting of your novel is creepy-- did you spend a lot of time in graveyards to get the right feel? Also, do you have a store that you've gone to similar to Whaty-Whats? 
I only went to the cemetery once with my best friend since first grade. We wandered around and talked about life and death all while the sounds and sights drilled into my head. We had a great time!

Whaty-Whats is based on a real place in my hometown. I’d go there often with my other best friend, and I loved every second of it. It was mostly the unique smell of the place that I enjoyed but also the fabulously unique clothes. I once bought a Harley Davidson tank top there with the motorcycle decorated in glitter. *sigh* I need to go back there one of these days because I miss that store!

5. If you could be sorted into a Hogwarts house, which one would it be and why? 

Ravenclaw because I’m a knowledge junky. Though at times, I can be a Slytherin-type, too…

6. What was your favorite YA read of the past year? 
Probably The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson. It’s book two of the Fire and Thorns series. It’s a pulse-pounding thrill ride threaded through with one of the sweetest love stories I’ve ever read.

7. Favorite show of all time? 
Firefly. I would give a couple of toes to have it back on the air.

8. Tell us about your cat. Is he/she anything like the awesome Elf in your book? 
Well, he does sleep a lot, but that’s the only thing he has in common with Elf! Other than sleeping, his latest hobby is staring at the light switch in the living room. I guess I should go stare at it too since it must be awesome. His name is Jesse, and he’s my spoiled baby.

9. Can you tell us what you are working on now and if we are going to see the awesome characters from The Grave Winner back again? 
I have a sexy/scary novella coming out in August, and I’m about halfway done with the sequel to The Grave Winner. I’m super excited about both of these!

Thanks so much for having me!

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